Pesto Quinoa w/Roasted Veggies

The Peru-inspired quinoa kick continues. Incidentally, I’ve lost a few pounds in the last few weeks. Whether it is due to the mostly gluten-free diet or the vast amounts of quinoa itself is debatable. We’ve had pizza a few times in the last few weeks but other than that, our diet has mostly been traditionally rice- or pasta-based meals with quinoa as a substitute: quinoa with adobo, quinoa fried rice, quinoa lasagna, quinoa salad, and today’s pesto quinoa.

Quinoa lasagna with grilled veggies & beef bolognese

First, the quinoa lasagna. This is basically a few layers of Smitten Kitchen’s bolognese, pre-cooked tri-color quinoa, cheese and grilled zucchini, mushrooms and peppers baked in the oven for an hour at 350F. Comfort food without the feeling of a gut bomb.

The pesto quinoa can be done with any veggies or meat you want. I dreamed this up because while the broccoli quinoa salad is delicious, it isn’t office friendly. Broccoli smells like fart. Cauliflower doesn’t. I’m ridiculously excited for my lunch today. My one tip (which I didn’t realize until after I made this) would be to mix your pesto and quinoa together before adding it to the vegetables. You get better coverage that way and the quinoa doesn’t go flying everywhere when you try to mix it all together.

If you want chicken, season and roast until done. If you want to roast your bell peppers you can do the same but I like them chopped and fresh for a textural change.

While vegetables are roasting, bring 2 cups chicken broth to a boil and cook 1 cup of quinoa until the liquid has been absorbed. Once cooked, add enough pesto to coat your quinoa to taste. Toss quinoa with roasted vegetables, chicken and a handful of almonds and you’re done!